A/N
- This is not beta-read, any mistakes you find will most likely be fixed later.
Rumi yawned as her alarm clock began buzzing. Sitting up in her bed she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as warm rays of sunlight filtered into her room. A week had passed since she had started training with Midoriya, yet she did not feel any stronger. Every day she went to bed exhausted and sore only to wake up and repeat it all over again. There had been a few times where she could have sworn she almost landed a hit on her liaison, but the green-haired man did not seem to ever tire even though Rumi always tried her hardest to best him.
Today was different though. Today was the day of the Hero-Liaison conference.
So with her training temporarily on hold, Rumi had been able to sleep in and not get up until the sun had risen.
Getting out of bed, the rabbit hero went about her usual morning routine and prepared for the long day ahead of her. After taking a quick shower to freshen up, she ate a light breakfast of toast and carrots before getting dressed.
It felt like it had been ages since she had last put on her hero outfit, when in reality it had only been around two weeks. It still fit perfectly, but when Rumi looked at herself in the mirror she could not help but feel like she was lying to everyone by wearing it. The cumulative effect of waking up every day to find she was still quirkless was taking its toll on the pro-hero. Normally she faced the day with positive enthusiasm, but now she could barely convince herself to get out of bed in the morning. If she did not have Midoriya pushing her to train she would likely just spend her days laying in bed and sleeping.
Shaking her head slightly to get rid of the depressed thoughts, Rumi went out into the main room and plopped down onto the couch in front of her massive flatscreen TV. Grabbing the remote and turning the television on, Rumi flipped through channels as she waited for Midoriya to show up. The programs she came upon were all different, but none of them managed to hold her attention. A morning news show talking about an overseas popstar making her debut, a popular hero gossip show, trashy reality TV shows, all of them were the equivalent of white noise to Rumi.
Saving her from a slow death by sheer boredom, Rumi's doorbell finally rang.
Jumping up from the couch and turning off the TV, Rumi bounced over to the front door but paused right as she was about to open it.
Why was she so happy to see Midoriya?
She had just noticed how whenever the handsome guy was involved she had much more motivation to do things, even if she did complain every once in a while. Before losing her quirk Rumi had no problem doing her daily menial tasks, but now it was a struggle to do even the most basic housekeeping chores around her apartment. However, when Midoriya was with her she almost felt like everything was back to normal.
Dismissing the confusing thoughts running through her head, Rumi opened her apartment door and forced herself to smile at Midoriya who was standing in the hallway.
"Heya Midoriya." Rumi said with a bit of forced enthusiasm. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."
Midoriya was dressed in his government standard black suit, but his normally unruly green hair had been slicked back into a much classier style.
To be honest, Rumi briefly considered taking a picture so she could admire her liaison's fresh hairstyle later.
"-ruko?"
Coming back to her senses, Rumi realized she had been staring blankly at Midoriya while he had been trying to talk to her.
"You okay?" The man asked in a slightly concerned tone as he looked at her curiously.
Fighting to keep the blush off her cheeks, Rumi mentally slapped herself and put on a fake smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said. "Just was thinking about...um...stuff."
Midoriya was silent and stared at Rumi with an intense gaze that made the rabbit hero want to both shy away and lose herself in his eyes at the same time.
Finally he spoke. "You don't have to force yourself to go if you don't feel like it." He said surprisingly gently.
Blinking in surprise, Rumi kept her fake smile on her face and waved away her liaison's concern. "What are you talkin about Midoriya? I feel great!"
Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Midoriya crossed his arms and spoke in a slightly more stern tone. "Don't bullshit me Miruko. I can tell something is bothering you. I can't do my job properly if you are going to hide things from me. Now either you level with me right now or I am going to call your agent and make you talk to her."
The fake smile left Rumi's face as her normally perky rabbit ears drooped heavily.
She wanted to tell him what was wrong, honestly she did.
But she had gone her entire life keeping everyone at arm's length. The only person she trusted was Miss Sasaki, and that was only after spending years working with the dour woman.
It was like she was standing on the edge of a cliff while a black ocean crashed against jagged rocks far below. She could go the safe route and step back, keeping her problems to herself while treating Midoriya like everyone else. Or she could take the risk and let herself fall, leaving herself vulnerable while trusting that Midoriya would catch her and not take advantage of her weakness.
For almost a full minute silence filled the room. Just as Midoriya began to reach into his pocket for his phone Rumi made her decision.
"I just…" The formerly confident woman paused and avoided meeting her liaison's eyes while she unconsciously wrung her hands together. "I just feel like a fraud. How can I wear my hero outfit and pretend like everything is fine when it isn't?" Her voice cracked slightly as words began to flow from her mouth in an endless stream. "What happens if there is some kind of emergency and people look to me to save them when I can't? It all just feels so pointless! I want to believe that my quirk will come back, but every day I wake up to find out that I am still weak and useless! My whole fucking life I wanted to be the strongest, no matter what. Now I dont have the one thing that made me who I am."
Looking up Rumi did not notice her voice growing louder as she let her inner thoughts continue to spill out. "I am just a quirkless person pretending to be a hero! I have no right to go to this conference where people will look at me like I am some kind of example to follow! I hate myself for being weak, then I hate myself even more for not believing in myself! I don't know what to do!"
Suddenly Rumi felt something wet on her cheek. As she shakily put her metal hand up to her face she realized that somewhere during her confession tears had started to form in her eyes. Mortified and angry at her own body for betraying her, Rumi angrily rubbed away her tears as she sniffled sadly.
"I'm sorry I…" She croaked out before beginning to turn around to run away.
However, Rumi suddenly found herself in a warm embrace as Midoriya pulled her close and hugged her.
The unexpected act of kindness was the figurative straw that broke the camel's back, and before she could stop herself Rumi broke down and clung to her liaison as she sobbed quietly.
Burying her head into Midoriya's shoulder, Rumi tried to sort out the confusing rush of feelings cascading through her. The warmth being conveyed through the hug, the subtle scent of citrus shampoo filling her nose, the flutter in her chest as she hugged Midoriya's broad back, it was all too much to handle.
Giving up on trying to make sense of what was happening, Rumi simply let herself enjoy the feeling of Midoriya's strong arms around her as her stream of tears slowly subsided.
"It's okay." Midoriya said softly in a comforting tone that made Rumi's heart skip a beat. "I understand. I really do. But you don't have to shoulder this burden alone. I was serious when I said you should trust me. We are partners, and partners should be able to rely on each other at all times. It's okay to doubt yourself, you wouldn't be human if you didn't."
Gently stroking Rumi's back, Midoriya gave her head a gentle pat as he spoke reassuringly. "I promise things will get better. You just have to keep your chin up and face every challenge head on. I will be right next to you through thick and thin, so let me help carry some of this burden you bear."
Rumi wanted this feeling of companionship and warmth to last forever, but as her tears finally stopped flowing she pulled back slightly to look up at Midoriya with a weak smile on her face.
"Thanks Midoriya." She said softly. "Who woulda guessed you were such a softy?" She teased lightly.
Rumi was happy to see a slight blush tinge Midoriya's cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly and avoided looking at her.
"Well umm...I just have experience with this sort of thing is all." He said quietly. "I simply wanted to make you feel better."
As much as she wanted to keep hugging Midoriya, Rumi knew that she would have to let go or else the two would end up standing in the hallway for hours. Pulling back from her partner's embrace, Rumi chuckled softly as she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.
"God I am a fuckin mess." She said happily. "Sorry for springing that on ya. I just...have never really done that before."
Rumi could not help but giggle as Midoriya coughed awkwardly with blushing cheeks.
"No worries." He said, clearly trying to go back to his usual professional demeanor. "Sorry for...h-hugging you like t-that."
God that nervous stutter was so fucking cute.
Waving away her liaison's apology, Rumi smiled at him happily. "You don't need to apologize. I think I really needed that. So umm…" She paused and fiddled with her metal hand before looking at him shyly. "You still wanna go to the conference thing?"
Finally breaking out of his awkward state, Midoriya grinned and crossed his arms as he spoke. "I distinctly remember asking you the same question earlier. The decision is up to you."
Rumi took a steadying breath as she nodded, her rabbit ears rising back to full height. "Yeah, I think I can handle it. As long as you are with me."
Rumi grinned as Midoriya blushed once more and spoke in a slightly strained voice.
"Well t-then let's get g-going."
Izuku wanted to slam his head against the steering wheel as he drove Miruko to the conference.
Why the fuck did he hug her like that?!
Reflexively merging lanes and passing other cars, Izuku continued to question his own sanity. It did not help that Miruko was sitting right next to him, and whenever he glanced over at her she gave him a breathtaking smile that made his normally sharp wit evaporate.
He had simply wanted for her to be honest with him, he had no way of knowing it would act as a trigger for a near mental breakdown! It did not help that he had instinctively hugged her upon seeing the turmoil and pain in her eyes.
But goddamn did it feel good to hug her. Both physically and mentally.
He had never been much of a hugger. Usually the most physical contact he had with someone was either by shaking hands or exchanging punches. However, it just felt wrong to let Miruko run away with tears in her eyes. Call him a white-knight or old-fashioned, but Izuku hated seeing girls cry. Probably because one of his most painful memories was watching his mom break down in tears after she thought he had left for school.
Honestly he had no clue where to go from here. Whenever he tried to start some small talk with her the words died in his throat while his cheeks burned bright red. Not to mention the fact that his entire relationship with Miruko had been based on antagonizing her, so he had no idea what was the correct way to deal with her now.
Taking the exit off the highway, Izuku shoved his anxiety to the back of his mind as they approached the convention center where the conference was being held.
The perimeter of the entire area was patrolled by security teams while guards checked identification at several different checkpoints leading to the parking lot. Overhead a pair of helicopters continually circled the area and kept in constant contact with the teams on the ground. The only people supposed to be attending the conference were pro-heroes, Ministry of Defense agents, and the press. Director Fujikawa had made it clear in his many briefings that putting on a good appearance for the press and visiting pro-heroes was paramount, and that every agent attending or working on the premises should be on their best behavior.
Passing through the security checkpoints and parking his car, Izuku got out and stretched his arms as he waited for Miruko to join him.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Miruko unexpectedly grabbed his arm and cheekily pressed herself against him with a knowing grin on her face.
"Look at you Midoriya."The rabbit hero teased. "Showing up with the number five pro-hero hangin onto ya. I bet there will be plenty of rumours about us after this."
Clearing his throat and fighting to keep a blush of his face, Izuku gently extracted himself from Miruko's grip and tried to give her a stern look.
"Now is not the time for messing around Miruko." He said flatly. "Don't you remember that the whole point of this conference is for pro-heroes and agents to find better partners? I bet the second we step inside people are going to be pestering us. Well, mostly you. I don't think I stand out enough to warrant any attention from top-ranked heroes."
Walking towards the convention center entrance, Izuku did not notice his hero partner pout slightly as she crossed her arms defensively.
"Don't sell yourself short Midoriya." She said. "You would be surprised how serious the pros can get about certain things. I mean even if people did not know you at all you will still get some attention solely on your looks alone."
Arching an eyebrow curiously, Izuku glanced over at his partner who seemed to have suddenly taken a keen interest in her chrome bionic arm.
"If you say so." He said unbelievingly. "Just try not to punch someone if they get pushy. I really don't want to be filling out incident forms the rest of the night."
Miruko gave him a toothy grin as she spoke. "No promises."
Passing through the front entrance, Izuku looked around at the massively spacious building filled with people. The pro-heroes were easy to spot based on their costumes, while everyone else was wearing the MoD-standard black suit or casual clothes.
Looking around at the various displays and booths in sight, Izuku frowned slightly as he realized just how much money the government must have invested in this conference.
Helicopters of various designs sat on rotating stages, support equipment vendors showed off their newest tech, and there were even several training areas where agents could compete in a variety of tests.
As soon as Izuku and Miruko stepped onto the main floor a swarm of reporters and agents descended upon them like a flock of seagulls going after a half-eaten burger. As reporters shouted over each other trying to get the scoop on Miruko's mysterious and handsome liaison, eager unpartnered agents thrust forward their business cards hoping that Miruko would take them.
His frown deepening, Izuku planted his feet and firmly stood his ground against the sea of humanity pushing against him.
"BACK THE FUCK UP!" Miruko roared angrily, stunning the crowd into silence. "I AM NOT CHANGIN MY PARTNER AND I AM NOT DOIN INTERVIEWS! NOW FUCK OFF!"
Clearly disappointed, the crowd dispersed and left an impressed Izuku alone with his partner.
"Thanks." Izuku said honestly. "Kind of blunt, but effective nonetheless."
Flipping her long white hair over her shoulders, Miruko huffed in annoyance as she looked around. "Hey I never said I was the calm and collected type. Like I care if a few feelings get hurt, they all should know better."
Smirking slightly, Izuku watched his partner look around at all the government funded equipment and displays. "So is there anything you want to see?" He asked. "Or do you just want to hang out until we meet the minimum public appearance requirement my boss wanted?"
Miruko was silent for a moment, and right as Izuku was about to suggest getting some food she spoke with that brilliant smile on her face.
"How about you show me around." She said warmly. "I never really paid much attention to this kinda stuff, but now with my...well maybe it is time for me to learn."
Nodding in understanding, Izuku led the way through the maze of displays and booths. In reality there was not much for Izuku to explain, as every display either had video presentations or a representative from the developing company to answer any questions.
First the pair visited the rotating helicopter displays that stuck out like a sore thumb. There were two types of helicopters being shown, a small but nimble helicopter that was intended for observation, rapid response, and search operations. The bubble-type cockpit only had two seats, but there was an option to add flat metal plates to the landing skids that could support multiple heavy adults. The second helicopter was much larger, clearly designed for heavy lifting and with a cargo bay big enough to comfortably fit eight passengers and their equipment. While not as fast as the scout helicopter, the transport helicopter featured a wide array of advanced equipment that could be used for anything from aquatic rescue operations to dangerous criminal transport.
After briefly talking with the helicopter pilots and technicians, Izuku and Miruko visited the personal equipment booths. The booths featured everything from the latest body armor to cutting edge medical equipment for delicate operations in hazardous environments. There was even a line of booths solely dedicated to non-lethal weaponry that would be used by field agents and response teams as they provided support for pro-heroes.
As the two watched an informational video about the mandatory de-escalation training field agents needed to learn, a familiar voice called out to them.
"Hey Miruko." Hawks said casually as he walked up. "I was half expecting you to not even show up."
"Very funny Hawks." Miruko said while rolling her eyes. "The only reason I am here is Midoriya. His boss apparently wanted to make sure I would show up."
Dressed in his hero outfit, but lacking his iconic wings, Hawks looked over at Izuku and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Huh, so you managed to win him over even after all that shit you put him through." Extending a hand for Izuku to shake, Hawks gave the green-haired agent a friendly smile. "I have heard a lot of good things about you Midoriya. Nice to finally meet you."
Slightly surprised, Izuku gave Miruko a confused look as he shook Hawks' hand. "Um, nice to meet you as well? I didn't know I was even on any pro-hero's radar, I mean I am just a regular field agent."
Grinning in a mischievously friendly manner, Hawks gave Miruko a knowing look. "Humble as well. Looks like Ogawa was not exaggerating."
Frowning slightly, Izuku glanced at Miruko who had taken a sudden interest in a nearby informational panel about solar powered batteries.
"Sounds like Ogawa is gossiping like always. You better tell her to be careful, Director Fujikawa would assign her to a polar research station if he found out she was discussing private information."
Hawks opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Oscar who had emerged from the nearby shadows.
"Wow Mido you really don't mess around." He said in a patronizing manner. "You even have the famous Hawks talking about you."
As Oscar inserted himself into the discussion Izuku forced himself to maintain a blank expression.
"Oscar dont you have somewhere to be?" He said flatly.
Out of everyone he worked with, Oscar was the last person Izuku wanted Miruko to meet. The two were polar opposites and the American agent obviously loved to get under people's skin. It was a recipe for disaster and Izuku was doing his best to prevent Oscar from antagonizing Miruko.
"Not really." Oscar said with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Director Fujikawa wanted me to run security for this thing, but I am taking a lunch break. And when I saw you rubbing shoulders with Hawks I knew I needed to hear how you two knew each other."
Glancing over at Miruko, Izuku could easily see the irritation on her face as she glared at Oscar. However, it seemed Hawks immediately knew what Oscar's intentions were, as he deftly stepped between Oscar and Miruko while putting a disarmingly friendly smile on his face.
"Nice to meet you, Oscar was it?" Hawks said as he offered his hand to shake. "Do you work with Midoriya?"
Oscar was silent for a moment, staring over Hawks' shoulder at Miruko like a snake locked onto its next meal. Finally, after a tense standoff, Oscar refocused his reptilian eyes on Hawks and shook his hand with a clearly fake smile on his face.
"Yes I am." The creepy American affirmed wholeheartedly. "He is my best friend in the entire department. The guy is like a brother to me."
With an equally fake smile on his face, Hawks nodded in understanding. "I see. I just know about Midoriya here because I chat with Miruko occasionally. Y'know, like coworkers talking about a shared acquaintance."
Oscar chuckled and mimicked Hawks' understanding nod. "Okay, thanks for clearing that up for me."
There was a tense silence as Oscar paused, eyeing Hawks like a new toy before speaking again. "I am actually a big fan of yours." He said. "That whole undercover operation you were part of was really impressive."
Izuku felt the tension rise as one of Hawks' eyebrows twitched slightly as he laughed.
"Sorry, I think you got me mixed up with some other hero." Hawks said.
Shaking his head, Oscar leaned forward slightly while wearing a knowing smile that showed off his large hyena-like teeth. "Oh come on Hawks, you don't need to be so modest. That whole operation was really impressive! I mean I sure as hell could not have done it."
Oscar slowly began to pace back and forth as he continued to talk patronizingly to Hawks. "The way you spent all that time befriending those monsters only to stab them in the back and kill one of them is something to be proud of. Not to mention you got in bed with the guy who turned you into Kentucky Fried Chicken. Talk about irony, am I right?"
Izuku felt his apprehension begin to spike as Oscar began blabbing about classified information. Of course Izuku had seen the dossier about the Hero Commission's double agent operation involving Hawks, but there is no way Oscar should have had access to that information. Glancing over at Hawks, Izuku knew he had to intervene as he saw the flying hero's calm facade be replaced with barely checked rage.
Stepping forward aggressively, Hawks poked the grinning Oscar in the chest as he snarled with pure hate, his face twisting into an expression filled with anger and pain. "You better shut the fuck up right now asshole. Or I am going to break your fucking jaw."
Not backing down in the slightest, Oscar dropped all pretense of friendliness as he mocked the wingless hero right to his face. "Aww, did I touch a nerve? I am just telling the truth you know. You heroes are all the same, you put on this holier-than-thou show for your fans, but behind the scenes you lie, cheat, and kill just like the rest of us. Welcome to the big bad world ya ugly duckling."
Seeing Miruko begin to move out of the corner of his eye, Izuku knew he had to act before things got out of hand.
Quickly stepping in front of Hawks and pushing Oscar away, Izuku put on his best commanding officer voice as he glared at the twisted American agent. "Stand down Oscar! That is an order! You have two seconds to leave before I tell Director Fujikawa that you are leaking top secret intel!"
Already anticipating that Miruko would be trying to attack Oscar, Izuku put out a hand to stop her before she could act.
"SAY THAT AGAIN MOTHERFUCKER!" Miruko yelled in outrage as she was held back by Izuku. "I'M GONNA STRANGLE YOU WITH YOUR OWN INTESTINES!"
By now the commotion was attracting an audience, and as much as Izuku wanted to knock Oscar's teeth out he knew that he had to remain professional and stop his partner from doing anything rash.
Clearly satisfied with the result of his actions, Oscar held up his hands in mock surrender and backed away with that stupid shit-eating grin on his face. "Oops, sorry Mido. My bad. Nice meeting you KFC and Lola." As the crowd of onlookers grew, Oscar swiftly vanished into the crowd, leaving Izuku to deal with the two battle-scarred pro-heroes.
It was clear that the liaison convention was over as far as Miruko and Hawks were concerned. After escorting the two heroes to a secluded area, Izuku did his best to assure them that Oscar would be punished and that he was not his friend in any way.
Hawks then stormed off while Miruko continued to rant about the various injuries she would inflict on Oscar if she ever saw him again.
Quickly getting his outraged partner away from prying eyes and back to the car, Izuku made an executive decision that they needed to find a way to calm down. Stopping at a grocery store on the way back to Miruko's apartment, Izuku grabbed a case of his favorite beer then sent a strongly worded email directly to Director Fujikawa about Oscar's actions.
Opening the door to her apartment, Rumi continued her rant that she had started on the drive back from the convention center.
"-and that fucking jackass should be fired and forced to clean toilets with his bare hands!" She said loudly as she angrily threw her keys onto the couch.
"Miruko I understand, and I will do everything I can to make sure Oscar is punished." Midoriya said diplomatically. "Just give it a rest for now. I really don't feel like going over this for the hundredth time."
Grumbling quietly, Rumi stomped off to her bedroom to change out of her hero outfit.
She couldn't help it that she was pissed off! Hawks was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she hated bullies! If she had her quirk that American asshole would have been flying out the nearest window before anyone could even blink!
Putting on some nylon shorts, a sports bra, and a baggy shirt, Rumi went back out into the living room to see Midoriya in the process of opening his case of beer.
"So you are just going to drink beer?" Rumi said in slight confusion. "I thought you would have some sort of secret training technique to calm down. Like yoga or meditation."
Chuckling softly, Midoriya shook his head as he took out a bottle of amber-colored beer. "Sorry to disappoint, but sometimes you will stay in a bad mood no matter what. This brand of beer is the closest thing I have to a comfort food and I usually only drink it after a rough day."
Rumi frowned as she walked over and took out a bottle, holding it up so that the rays of the setting sun cast shafts of light through the golden liquid. "That kinda sounds close to being an alcoholic. Is this what you were drinking when I ran into you that one night?"
Midoriya snorted in amusement as he popped off the bottle cap of his beer with a deceptively simple hand motion. "No, that night I was drinking hard liquor." Pointing over to Rumi's lone couch, Izuku took a sip of his beer and sighed with contentment. "Help me move your couch to face the windows. Your place has such a nice view of the city it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good sunset."
Finally snapping out of her angry mood, Rumi felt a slight blush tinge her cheeks as she followed her liaison over to move the heavy couch.
Was he flirting with her? She did not have much experience with romance besides a few one-night stands, but the way Midoriya's eyes had that warm friendly spark to them made her heart flutter like she was a schoolgirl with a huge crush.
Well shit, if she was being honest with herself she should just admit that she did have a crush on the guy.
To be fair, she was probably just one of many people who had feelings for the grouchy but handsome field agent. Just with his looks alone Midoriya probably was a natural heartbreaker back in highschool. The thing was that once you got to know him you knew he never used his looks for scummy reasons. Hell, it was like he had stepped out of one of those cheesy romance dramas where the couple lives happily ever after.
Coming back to her senses, Rumi was amazed to find that she was now sitting on the couch next to Midoriya with an unopened beer in hand.
She really needed to get her daydreaming under control.
"I will say, you definitely chose a good penthouse." Midoriya said as he leaned back into the sofa, watching the setting sun reflect off countless glass windows on other buildings. "It has an amazing view."
Laughing softly, Rumi shrugged in response. "Honestly, I only chose this place because of the privacy and the deck area. The deck out there is a perfect launching spot to jump to other buildings."
Nodding, Midoriya took another long sip of his beer. "Makes sense I guess. I never really thought about it that way. I guess that is kind of the difference between pro-heroes and us regular people."
Setting her unopened beer down on the floor, Rumi laughed sadly. "Okay I can sort of agree with that, but now I am a normal person like everyone else. Plus your quirk is probably just useful in a different way. Hell the way people talk about you would think that you are some kind of secret agent hero."
Midoriya paused for a second before shrugging, still staring out the massive penthouse windows at the setting sun. "Maybe...but I am still normal like everyone else. I don't have anything special about me that gives me an advantage, I just work twice as hard as everyone else."
Rumi frowned as she mimicked her liaison and leaned back into the couch.
"Okay this has been bugging me for awhile." She said as she stared at the setting sun. "What is your quirk? I think we know each other well enough by now to be honest with each other."
Midoriya finished his beer and immediately opened a second one, taking a big gulp of the alcoholic beverage before responding.
"It's not important." He said flatly.
Turning to look at her partner, Rumi sighed in slight annoyance. "Oh c'mon Midoriya, just tell me already. Stop being such a pansy."
Midoriya loosened his black tie and gulped down the rest of his bottle, quickly replacing it with a fresh new one. "I said it is not important. Why does it matter what my quirk is? I don't want to talk about it and that is it. It has been a rough day and I just want to relax."
An idea forming in her head, Rumi smirked and gently poked her partner's shoulder. "Oh I get it now, you are embarrassed. You think your quirk is gross or it makes you ugly or something." Laughing softly, she gave Midoriya's arm a light punch as she talked. "I swear I won't laugh at you or anything, just tell me what it is already and we can be done with this."
Caught up in her certainty that she had figured out the reason for her partner's refusal to discuss his quirk, Rumi did not notice him stiffening up as spoke in an unamused voice.
"Miruko, drop it. Stop asking."
Rolling her eyes, Rumi continued to teasingly poke and prod at the man sitting next to her. "Oh lighten up! Here, I will guess and you tell me if I am right. Do your eyeballs pop out of your head and let you see around corners?"
As the last glimpse of the sun set over the horizon Midoriya continued to stare straight ahead while he clenched his empty bottle of beer.
"I said, I don't want to talk about it."
Making an exaggerated thinking face, Rumi giggled at the challenge presented before her.
"Okay, maybe your tongue can turn into a new hand and punch people?"
"Miruko for the last time stop asking."
"Does your snot turn into glue and you trap people with your boogers?"
"I am not joking around, please stop asking."
"Can your barf melt steel?
"..."
"Tell me if I am getting close. You can track people with your sweat?
"..."
"Oh I know! You get super strength if you are naked!"
Rumi blinked in surprise as an empty beer bottle rocketed past her head and shattered against the wall behind her.
Opening her mouth to scold Midoriya for making a mess, the words died in Rumi's mouth as she saw the look of unbridled rage and pain on her partner's face.
"SHUT UP!" Midoriya roared as he stood up. "SHUT UP SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Somehow the man's voice seemed to get even louder, and in the dark twilight he stalked towards Rumi with nothing but hate and self-loathing in his eyes.
"QUIRK THIS! QUIRK THAT! I FUCKING HATE TALKING ABOUT QUIRKS!"
Rumi's ears instinctively flattened against her head as she shrank back in fear. Somehow the darkness made Midoriya seem three times as big as he towered over her and roared so loudly Rumi could have sworn the building shook.
"YOU HEROES ARE ALL THE SAME! SO FUCKING OBSESSED WITH QUIRKS BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT ANYONE CARES ABOUT! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I HAD NO SYMPATHY FOR YOU WHEN YOU LOST YOUR QUIRK?!
Rumi could see spit flying from her partner's mouth as he screamed like a deranged animal, his eyes clouded over with such hate and pain that she wondered if he even knew who he was talking to.
"BECAUSE I NEVER HAD A QUIRK TO BEGIN WITH!"
Finally it all clicked, and Rumi could only think of a single thing as time froze around her.
"Well I really fucked up this time."
In an instant time resumed, and a small part of Rumi's brain made an observation that she might actually be in danger.
Raising a fist, Midoriya let out a primal scream that Rumi could only compare to a cornered and dying animal.
Just when Rumi was certain that she was about to be beaten to death by the man she had a crush on, Midoriya turned and ran away.
Frozen in her seat, Rumi heard the door to her apartment slam only to be followed by eerie silence.
Staring out into the black sky, Rumi could only hug herself and curl up into a ball as she wondered if she would ever see Midoriya again.